Night Calls - Paperback

by Katharine Eliska Kimbriel (Author)

When you have the Gift, your life is not your own.

I was born to a family that harnessed the winds and could read futures in fire and water. Yet my mother kept her secrets.

Then the werewolf came, sharing his madness.

Now it's my turn to keep secrets....

Descended from powerful magic-users, but ignorant of her heritage, young Alfreda Sorensson learns magic and wisdom from her extended family in an alternate early 1800s Michigan Territory.

Reviews:

"If you can imagine Little House on the Prairie with werewolves, vampires, and magic, you've got an idea what this dark fantasy novel is like. ...the strong characters, the matter-of-fact tone, and the strong sense of place make this something special." -Locus Magazine

"There are very few books I reread on a regular basis. Night Calls is one. When I read Night Calls I thought, first, that Robin McKinley's The Blue Sword had at last found a proper shelf-mate...." -Laura Anne Gilman, Nebula Award Nominee for Flesh and Fire: The Vineart War series. Author of Silver on the Road

"Kimbriel deftly weaves elements of horror and historical fiction to fabricate a compelling tale of another time and place. Excellent descriptive passages and strong, sympathetic characters pull the reader into the story. The underlying horror in Night Calls builds slowly and inexorably to an exciting climax. Nordic superstitions and spirits combined with unusual ways to combat the supernatural make this a unique read for horror fans." -Rochelle M. Bilz, Voya, October 1996

"I am so glad that Katharine Eliska Kimbriel's Night Calls is getting out into the world again. If anything, I believe this story's time has come-it's the dark fantasy with an underlying glint of the numinous that I think so many readers are looking for and not finding." -Sherwood Smith, author of Crown Duel

"With a clear, distinctive voice, Katharine Kimbriel invents and re-invents magic on America's frontier, a place hardly explored by writers and long overdue for a visit. (Or should I say a visitation?) Love the book (Kindred Rites)." -Jane Yolen, award-winning author of Briar Rose

"I have not been so enthralled with a novel since Wrede's Thirteenth Child.... It takes talent to build a world so rich and lush that the reader cannot imagine it ever being differently, but that is exactly what Ms. Kimbriel has done." -April M. Steenburgh, So Many books, So Little Time

Author Biography

Katharine Eliska Kimbriel reinvents herself every decade or so. It's not on purpose, mind you-it seems her path involves overturning the apple cart, collecting new information & varieties of apple seed, and moving on. The one constant she has reached for in life is telling stories.

"I'm interested in how people respond to unusual circumstances. Choice interests me. What is the metaphor for power, for choice? In SF it tends to be technology (good, bad and balanced) while in Fantasy the metaphor is magic-who has it, who wants or does not want it, what is done with it, and who/what the person or culture is after the dust has settled. A second metaphor, both grace note and foundation, is the need for and art of healing.

"A trope in fantasy is great power after passing through death. Well, at my crisis point, I didn't die. That means that I'm a wizard now. Who knows what I may yet accomplish?"

Kimbriel is the author of the Night Calls series (Night Calls, Kindred Rites, and Spiral Path) The Chronicles of Nuala series, and many short stories.

A John W. Campbell Award nominee.

NIGHT CALLS is appropriate for ages 12-120. After 120, you're probably a vampire and may not spend much time reading.